Jean Lurçat French, 1892-1966
Narcissus, c. 1955
Hand-painted glazed ceramic
29 x 54 cm
Edition of 50
Inscribed "Dessin J. Lurçat, Sant Vicens, I. C, 1/50 2e serie" verso
Ed. 1/50
Ed. 1/50
An important and successful painter of the École de Paris, Lurçat singlehandedly revived tapestry-making as an art form during the 1930's. Lurçat's artistic eye simultaneously wandered towards a multitude of...
An important and successful painter of the École de Paris, Lurçat singlehandedly revived tapestry-making as an art form during the 1930's. Lurçat's artistic eye simultaneously wandered towards a multitude of other media, including engraving, book illustrations and - most notably - ceramics. During the 1950's, Lurçat worked away abundantly at Firmin Bauby's Mas Sant-Vicens ceramic works in the Southern French city of Perpignan. Lurçat's association with the Saint-Vicens workshop gave it an international dimension, and other artists such as Picard le Doux and Marc Saint-Saëns followed to work there.
Imaginary and mythological sea and wood creatures, as well as foliage, are winding their ways in thickly applied saturated colours overlaid with brilliant glaze. Creatures plucked from the Apocalypse and the Zodiac demonstrate Lurçat's fondness of the symbolic and poetry which formed the core of his artistic expression. Thus, a plate, a bowl, a jug or a tile, becomes an object of beauty and exquisitness. Lurçat's poetry is ultimately derived from the excellence of the Art Nouveau style. In his unsurpassed love for all things rural, Lurçat was particularly attached to the rooster and the owl. Repectively synonymous for the sunrise and wisdom, both symbolise the awakening of the spirit.
Lurçat's ceramics proved popular and were shown in 1952 at the Maison de la Pensée française, Paris, in 1963 at the Hannover Museum in Hannover, in 1964 at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. in 1965 at the landmark exhibition Ceramiche Lurçat-Picasso at La Bussola Gallery in Turin, and in 2004 at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Public collections include: Detroit Museum of Fine Arts, Detroit; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble; Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne, Paris; Museum of Chicago; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery, Washington DC; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia;
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Imaginary and mythological sea and wood creatures, as well as foliage, are winding their ways in thickly applied saturated colours overlaid with brilliant glaze. Creatures plucked from the Apocalypse and the Zodiac demonstrate Lurçat's fondness of the symbolic and poetry which formed the core of his artistic expression. Thus, a plate, a bowl, a jug or a tile, becomes an object of beauty and exquisitness. Lurçat's poetry is ultimately derived from the excellence of the Art Nouveau style. In his unsurpassed love for all things rural, Lurçat was particularly attached to the rooster and the owl. Repectively synonymous for the sunrise and wisdom, both symbolise the awakening of the spirit.
Lurçat's ceramics proved popular and were shown in 1952 at the Maison de la Pensée française, Paris, in 1963 at the Hannover Museum in Hannover, in 1964 at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. in 1965 at the landmark exhibition Ceramiche Lurçat-Picasso at La Bussola Gallery in Turin, and in 2004 at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Public collections include: Detroit Museum of Fine Arts, Detroit; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble; Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne, Paris; Museum of Chicago; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery, Washington DC; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia;
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.